Electric rocker switch



April 22, 1952 w. H. GILLILAND 2,593,436

ELECTRIC ROCKER SWITCH Filed D60- 16, 1949 2 SHEETSSHEET l INVENTORW/YI/bm H. Gilli/0nd 5 By A ffa7rneys April 1952 w. H. GILLILANDELECTRIC ROCKER SWITCH 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 Filed Dec. 16, 1949 INVENTORWill/am H Gil/[land M %m%% A Hart/47s Patented Apr. 22, 1952 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE ELECTRIC tOCKER SWITCH William H. Gilliland,Birmingham, Ala., assignor to Usco Power Equipment Corp., Birmingham,Ala., a corporation of Alabama Application December 16, 1949, Serial No.133,408

. 1 This invention relates to a rocker assembly for anelectric switchfor high tension power lines in which an insulator carrying a conductorelement is mounted for pivotal or swinging movement in an arcuate pathwith relation to a relatively stationary conductor element to open andclose the switch. Examples of switches of this type are disclosed inpatents to A. G. Steinmayer No. 1,928,635 and W. A. Gussow et al. No.2,354,991.

The present invention has for its general object and purpose to providecertain improvements in the means for mounting the movable insulatorswitch unit and connecting the same with an operating bar, and embodiesan insulator supporting member and a clamping member. In Patent No.2,354,991 each of these members is directly supported by a common pivotpin mounted on a stationary base with adjustable means connecting saidmembers to clamp the same upon an interposed operating bar. Thisarrangement results in the transmission of severe distorting stresses tothe pivot pin tending to create frictional resistance to the freepivotal movement of the switch unit.

Therefore, it is a more particular object of this invention to provide anovel assembly of the insulator support and adjustable clamping memberin which only the supporting member is mounted directly upon the pivotpin so that the clamping stresses are absorbed entirely by the operatingbar and not transmitted to the pivot pin, to insure the free operationof the movable switch unit with a minimum of manual effort.

Another object resides in an improved construction of the insulatorsupport and clamping member whereby their assembly and mounting on thestationary base member under field conditions will be greatlyfacilitated.

A further object is to provide a fixed base member and an insulatorswitch unit supporting member pivotally mounted thereon with coactingparts on..-said base and supporting member accuratelyfiguiding themovement of the switch unit to closed position and preventing angulardisplacement thereof by thrust forces on said member or unit parallel tothe pivotal axis thereof.

An additional object of this invention is to provide an improvedelectric switch mounting means asv above characterized for large scaleproduction at minimum unit cost and in which the several parts are ofvery simple and rugged structural form, capable of withstanding abusivehandling to which such devices are frequently bracket or base member I6is also rigidly secured 7 Claims. (01. 200-48) subjected withoutimpairing efficient operation thereof.

With the above and other subordinate objects in view the inventioncomprises the improved electric switch and the construction andarrangement of its several parts, as will hereinafter be more fullydescribed, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and subsequentlyincorporated in the subjoined claims.

In the drawings, wherein there is disclosed one simple and practicalembodiment of the invention and in which similar reference charactersdesignate corresponding parts throughout the several views:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a high potential electric switchillustrating one service installation incorporating my presentimprovements and showing the switch in closed position.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view on an enlarged scale takensubstantially on the line 22 of Figure 1. s

Figure 3 is a vertical section taken substantially on the line 3-3 ofFigure 2.

Figure 4 is a side elevation illustrating the assembly of the severalparts of the switch mounting with the operating bar.

Figure 5 is a detail inner side elevation of the clamping member, and

Figure 6 is a detail outer side elevation of the insulator unitsupporting member.

In Figure l of the drawings, by way of example, I have shown asupporting beam I0 upon which two longitudinally spaced insulators l2and M respectively are rigidly mounted. Substantially mid-way betweenthese insulators a mounting to the beam I0. At its opposite side edgesthis member is formed with apertured bearing lugs l8 in which theopposite ends of a pivot pin 20 are supported. At each of its ends thebase member I6 is formed with a flange 22 projecting in the samedirection as the lugs l 8 but of less width than said base and equallyspaced inwardly from its opposite side edges, as clearly shown in Figure2 of the drawings. The purpose of these flanges will presently be fullyexplained.

Upon the pivot pin 20 a supporting member 24 for the movable switchinsulator unit 25 is directly mounted at one of its ends. As mostclearly seen in Figures 2, 3 and 6 this member 24 is preferably in theform of a one-piece casting having spaced parallel side portions 26integrally connected at one end by a bolting flange 28 rigidly securedto the insulator unit 25 and by a transverse web 30 integral with theflange 28 other ends of the side portions 26.

stationary insulator l2. horns 60 are attached to the conducting membersB and 58 and a line terminal 62 is connected to conducting member 58.

3 and terminating in spaced relation from the The web 30 includesangularly related parts forming a seat 32 for engagement with one sideof an operating bar 34 in the form of a rectangular tube.

An arm 36 is integrally formed with the web 30 and projects from theseat portion 32 centrally between the side portions 26 of member 24. Asshown in Figure 3 this arm gradually increases in width from the web 30and has an outer inclined side edge 38 provided adjacent to said webwith a semi-circular recess 40. The end of said arm and thecorresponding ends of the side portions 26 are provided with alignedopenings through which the pivot pin 20 is fitted.

A clamping member 42 of generally similar form to the seat portion 32 ofthe web 38 is adapted for engagement upon the other side of' theoperating bar 34 and one of its angularly disposed parts is providedwith a longitudinal slot 44 throughwhi'ch the arm 36 of member 24 isrecelved. The outer end of slot 44 is closed by a cylindrlcally formedfulcrum portion 46 rockably seated in the recess 48 in arm 36.

At its'other end clamping member 42 is formed "with an extension lughaving a tapered aperture 48 to register with an aperture 58 in the web30 of member 24. These apertures receive the clamping bolt 52 upon whichnut 54 is adjustably threaded to urge the members 24 and 42 into tightclamping contact with opposite sides of the operating bar 34.

The insulator 25 carries a conducting member 55 having a blade which,when the switch is closed,

is engaged between a pair of resiliently yieldable blades of aconducting member 58 mounted on the The customary arcing To the otherstationary conductor 4 a conducting member 64 is also secured and themembers 5B and. are'c'onnected by and suitably insulated fromcounterbalancing linkage 6B, 68 for the movable switch unit. Thislinkage is not a feature of the present invention and may be siin- 'ilarto that shown in' the above mentioned patents. It is provided withsuitable supporting means for flexible conductors electricallyconnecting members 56 and 64, to the latter of which the other lineterminal in is connected.

Suitable actuating means of conventional form (not shown) is connectedwith the bar 34 for the .operation of the movable switch unit 25 aboutthe axis of pivot pin 20 and, it will be understood; that a series ofsimilar switch units may be mounted and secured to bar 34, as aboveexplained, for simultaneous movement to open and I -closed position-inaccordance with conventional practice in the art.

From the above construction the several novel features of. the presentinvention will be readily understood. In mounting the insulator switch.unit 251cm the bracket or base member 16, the clamping member 42 isfirst assembled with the insulator support 24 by passing the arm 36 ofsaid support through the slot 44 in the clamp and engaging thecylindrical end portion 46 of the clamp in recess 49 in said arm. Inmounting the switch unit 25 on the base member IS the clamp 42 ispreferably arranged in the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 4relative to the insulator support 24 and said unit is disposed incircuit closing position relative to insulator [2 with the lower ends ofarm 36 and side portions 26 of member 24 disposed between the lugs l8 onthe base member. One of the flanges 22 on the base mem ber extendsupwardly between the side portions 26 and has supporting contact withthe web portion 32 of member 24. Thus the openings in parts 26 and 30 ofmember 24 may be quickly aligned with the openings in bearing lugs IS onthe base and pivot pin 20 inserted through said aligned openings, andclamp member 42 then moved to the full line position of Figure 5 whereit is supported by said pin.

By pre-assembling the clamp member 42 on the insulator support 24,instead of directly mounting said member on pivot pin 20, the finalassembly of the several parts may be expeditiously accomplished.

As the insulator switch unit may weigh as much as 50 pounds and, underfield conditions, and using'the prior art structures, the alignment ofthe openings in the clamp and insulator support with each other and withopenings in the bearing lugs on the base, and holding the parts inproper position while the pivot pin is inserted through said openings,requires considerably dexterity and manual effort. Such difficult andtime consuming operations in the assembly of the several parts of theswitch mounting have been obviated by means of the present invention.

Referring again to Figure 4 of the drawings after operating bar 34 isplaced upon the seat portion 32 of support member 24 the clamp 42 isswung inwardly on said bar, its fulcrum portion 46 rocking freely on arm36 in the recess 40 thereof. The clamping bolt 52 is then insertedthrough openings 48 and 50 and nut 54 adjusted thereon. As the bolt istightened the operating bar 34 is tightly clamped between member 42 andthe seat portion 32 of web 38 as seen in Figure 3. The clamping actiontends to laterally displace the ends of side portions 26 and arm 36 inone direction which is counteracted by the tendency to lateraldisplacement of the fulcrum portion 46 of the clamp member 42 in theopposite direc tion. Thus as the pin 20 and part 42 are located atopposite sides of a plane bisecting the bar 34, the clamping stressesare borne entirely by the operating bar 34 and not transmitted to thepivot pin 20. Therefore, the possibility of distortion of the pivot pinand frictional resistance to free swinging movement of the switch unitis also avoided by the present improvements.

From reference to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, it will be noted thatas the pivotally mounted switch unit approaches the circuit closingposition, the side portions 26 of member 24 move over the opposite sideedges of stop flange 22 on base member [6 in close clearance relationthereto.

Thus, deviation of the blade element of conductor 56 from its path ofarcuate movement is more effectively prevented so that the blade willenter between and properly coact with the resilient blade elements ofthe stationary conductor 58 without excessive bending and possibledistortion of the latter. Also, this construction provides additionalmeans which willprevent displacement of the switch unit axially of pivotpin 20 under heavy longitudinal thrust forces on the operating bar 34,which might result in damage to the switch blades and impair theirproper cooperation.

It will of course be evident that this invention may also be used withthe same advantages when the beam [0 and base member [6 are arranged ina vertical position instead of horizontally, as shown in Figure 1 of thedrawings.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presentembodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrativeand not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by theappended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and allchanges which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of theclaims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States LettersPatent is:

1. In an electric switch having a movable insulator unit carrying acurrent conducting element for separable engagement with a relativelystationary conducting element; a support operatively mounting saidinsulator unit for movement in an arcuate path to and from circuitclosing position comprising a stationary base, a pivot pin mountedthereon, a supporting member fixed to said insulator unit and mountedsaid pin to rock about the axis thereof, an oper ating bar for saidinsulator unit, a member to clampingly secure said bar against saidsupporting member, said clamping and supporting members havingrespective formed parts coacting to provide a rockable fulcrum for saidclamping member on the supporting member between said pivot pin and theoperating bar, and an adjustable connection between said supporting andclamping members.

2. In an electric switch having a movableinsulator unit carrying acurrent conducting element for separable engagement with a relativelystationary conducting element; a support operatively mounting said unitfor movement in an arcuate path to and from circuit closing positioncomprising a stationary base, a supporting member for said insulatorunit pivotally mounted at one of its ends on said base and fixed at itsother end to said insulator unit. and means for releasably securing saidsupporting member to an operating bar. including a clamping memberhaving an end portion embracing a part of said supporting member anddirectly pivoted thereon between said other end of said supportingmember and the axis of pivotal movement of said supporting member onsaid base.

3. In an electric switch having a movable insulator unit carrying acurrent conducting ele ment for separable engagement with a relativelystationary conducting element; a support operatively mounting saidinsulator unit for movement in an arcuate path to and from circuitclosing position comprising a stationary base, a pivot pin mountedthereon, an operating bar for said insulator unit, a supportingmemberfixed to said insulator unit and including an arm directly mounted onsaid pivot pin and provided betweensaid pivot pin and the operating barwith a bearing recess in one edge thereof, in sub stantial alignmentwith said pin longitudinally of said arm, a member to clampingly securesaid bar against said supporting member having a part rockably fulcrumedin said bearing recess, and an adjustable connection between saidsupporting and clamping members.

4. In an electric switch having a movable insulator unit carrying acurrent conducting element for separable engagement with a relativelystationary conducting element; a support operatively mounting saidinsulator unit for movement in an arcuate path to and from circuitclosing position comprising a stationary base, a pivot pin mountedthereon, a supporting member fixed to said insulator unit and mounted onsaid pin to rock about the axis thereof, an operating bar for saidinsulator unit, a member to clampingly secure said bar against saidsupporting member having a part rockably fulcrumed on the supportingmember between said pivot pin and the operating bar, said pivot pin andfulcrum part of the clamping member being located at relatively oppositesides of a plane bisecting said operating bar, and an adjustableconnection between said supporting and clamping members.

5. In an electric switch, having a movable insulator unit carrying acurrent conducting element for separable engagement with a relativelystationary conducting element; a support operatively mounting said unitfor movement in an arcuate path to and from circuit closing positioncomprising a stationary base, a pivot pin mounted on said base, asupporting member for said insulating unit having a plurality of spacedparallel parts at one end engaged upon said pin to pivotally mount saidsupporting member on said base, and means for releasably securing saidsupporting member to an operating bar including a clamping member, saidclamping member and one of the parts of said supporting member havingintegrally formed coacting portions forming a pivotal connection betweensaid supporting and clamping members located between the other end ofsaid supporting member and the axis of pivotal movement of saidsupporting members on said base to directly pivot said clamping memberupon said supporting members.

6. An electric switch as defined by claim 5, in which said clampingmember is provided with a slot through which said part of the supportingmember projects and said coacting means comprises, a cylindrical portionon said clamping member pivotally seated in a recess in said part.

7. An electric switch as defined by claim 5, wherein said base isprovided with a stop flange to limit pivotal movement of said supportingmember in one direction and receivable between the other spaced parts ofsaid member to coact therewith and restrain said member against movementaxially of said pivot pin.

WILLIAM H. GILLILAND.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

